December Nominations

This is the third and final time that the Newbery committee will trade nominations (3 in October, 2 in November, 2 in December). In order for a book to be on the table for discussion, it must first be nominated, so we may see many people use their final two nominations, not to build consensus, but to highlight some of those outliers. That’s not the case for me, however. Since many of my previous nominations went to outliers, I’m going to spend my final couple nominations building consensus.

You may recall that my previous five were–

THE ANIMAL BOOK

ERUPTION!

IF YOU WANT TO SEE A WHALE

THE THING ABOUT LUCK

WHAT THE HEART KNOWS

You may also remember that I was considering FAR FAR AWAY, GHOST HAWK, and THE TRUE BLUE SCOUTS OF SUGAR MAN SWAMP for my final two nominations. I’m still very high on all three titles, but I’m going to make a purely strategic choice and nominate–

FAR FAR AWAY

THE TRUE BLUE SCOUTS OF SUGAR MAN SWAMP

Please let us know what your seven nominations are, and remember that, unlike the real committee, you are allowed to change your mind here to better reflect the reading and reflecting that you have done in the past month. I’ll also mention that the real committee submits their nominations anonymously and they see all of the new nominations at once. So for all intents and purposes, this list is only meant to suggest the range of titles that the committee might expect to see once they get their final set of nominations, how those nominations have varying levels of support, and how that prioritizes the final reading push of committee members as they prepare for their January deliberations.

For your benefit, I’m including below the final tally for the previous round of nominations. You’ll notice that we slighted two of the top vote getters–DOLL BONES and THE REAL BOY–when we made our Mock Newbery shortlist. If we were more concerned about prediction than simulation than surely we would have included them, but we expect them to have a strong showing when the Virtual Mock Supercommittee votes next month–and perhaps when the real Newbery committee votes, too!

Jonathan Hunt is the Coordinator of Library Media Services at the San Diego County Office of Education. He served on the 2006 Newbery committee, and has also judged the Caldecott Medal, the Printz Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. You can reach him at hunt_yellow@yahoo.com

Comments

BREAKFAST ON MARS — probably technically eligible, and leaving aside the question of who would get the award, I think everything about this is Newbery-level. Also, I think unlike other non-novel contenders, no mental re-orientation is required because of genre to recognize this.

BATTLE BUNNY — Sure. The only problem I had was that the best line comes a little too early (“Because today I’m going to whomp on you, birdbrain, and pluck you like a sick chicken!”)

My previous five:
THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING
IF YOU WANT TO SEE A WHALE
FLORA AND ULYSSES
ONE CAME HOME
TRUE BLUE SCOUTS

CLEMENTINE AND THE SPRING TRIP – not only is this probably my personaol favorite book of the year (if not the book I find most distinguished), but I just really want to keep it in the conversation.
THE REAL BOY
IF YOU WANT TO SEE A WHALE
THE WATER CASTLE – I seem to be among the last to find this a strong candidate, but I’m sticking with it.
PRIMATES – still the best GN of the year
THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING
FLORA AND ULYSSES – funny!

THING ABOUT LUCK
PS BE ELEVEN
IF YOU WANT TO SEE A WHALE
FAR FAR AWAY
WHAT THE HEART KNOWS

I don’t feel the need to build consensus with my nominations, since that’s what the discussion is for. So, to lend weight to considerations going into the discussion, I’m going to pull one from the bottom of the pack that I would like to see members really take seriously, especially in comparison to others:

CLEMENTINE AND THE SPRING TRIP

And then I’m going to give my last nomination to get a title on the list that is not there yet, because if it’s not nominated, it’s not discussed :

Adding:
BLUFFTON – Top GN and maybe top historical fiction title
AFRICA IS MY HOME: A CHILD OF THE AMISTAD – looking back at my goodreads list of books read this year, Monica’s really jumps out as one that demands a reread (which is my top requirement for newbery consideration)

I still love my 5 from November –
FLORA AND ULYSSES
TRUE BLUE SCOUT OF SUGAR MAN SWAMP
IF YOU WANT TO SEE A WHALE
DOLL BONES
FROM NORVELT TO NOWHERE
I’m excited about my additions – wonderful books both!
CLEMENTINE AND THE SPRING TRIP
WHAT THE HEART KNOWS
I’m ordering copies of the last for my grandaughters – such a special, touching title!

All of us who read it for our last mock Newbery meeting felt it was such a strong book. Meg Medina builds such an incredible feeling of psychological claustrophobia. We felt the box developing around Piddy.Powerful.

About Heavy Medal

Jonathan Hunt is the County Schools Librarian at the San Diego County Office of Education. He served on the 2006 Newbery committee, and has also judged the Printz Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. You can reach him at hunt_yellow@yahoo.com

Sharon McKellar is the Community Relations Librarian for the Oakland Public Library in California. She has served on the Rainbow List Committee, the Notable Children’s Recordings Committee as well as the 2015 Caldecott Committee. You can reach her at sharon@mckellar.org

Join us from September to January as we discuss all things Newbery: the history and purpose of the award, terms and criteria, possible contenders, and results of Mock Newbery discussions--including yours?